THE EVIDENCE OF THE PLAYS
Coming from an authority of Greenwood's
standing, these comparisons cannot be lightly
ignored. Further, it may be noted that Bacon
never made mention of William Shakespeare in
his works.
The Winter's Tale may be an Oxford play
written in 1584, finished by Bacon after Oxford's
death.
The Tempest. Performed 1611.
Looney holds that The Tempest is not a "Shake-
spearean" play; Allen agrees. The chief source
of the play was a private letter written by William
Strachey, Recorder of Virginia, to an "Excellent
Lady55 in England. The letter, containing con-
fidential information for the London Council of
the Virginia Company, reached England in
September 1610; but was not published until
1625, after the dissolution of the Virginia Company
in 1624. William of Stratford could hardly have
seen this document.
Slater and Ward suggest that The Tempest was a
collaboration by Lady Pembroke (the "Excellent
Lady55) and Sir Walter Raleigh; that Prospero in
his cell is Sir Walter in the Tower; and that the
object of the play was to persuade King James
to release Raleigh. The Epilogue, spoken by
Prospero-Raleigh and addressed to the audience
(of whom the King was one on November i,
1611) 5 concludes thus:
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